Folding umbrella



March 21, 1939.

w. A. HEILMANNL ET AL 2,1 0,971

FOLDING UMBRELLA v 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 23, 1958 INVE'NTORS:

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March 21, 1939.

W. A. HEILMANN ET AL FOLDING UMBRELLA Filed March 23, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS ZZZ:

ATTORNEY.

MzbmAza zzmmn/ lgullg March 21, 1939- w. A. HEILMANN ET AL FOLDING UMBRELLA Filed March 23, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 W ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 21, 1939 UNITED STATES FOLDING UMBBEIILA William A. Heilmann, Orange,

Schultl,.Kearney, N. 3., Rivet Works, Newark, N. 1,

New Jersey and William assignors to Newark a corporation of Application March 23, 1938, Serial No. 197,574

6 Claims.

This invention relates, generally, to improve ments in umbrellas, parasols and the like, which are adapted to be collapsed and folded, when closed, to a substantially reduced length and compact bulk, whereby, when so conditioned, the same may be easily stored and carried within a traveling bag or other luggage carrier.

This invention has for an object to provide a novel improved collapsible umbrella structure including a stafi or rod comprising telescopic sections and a novel arrangement of latching detent devices operative to optionally retain the umbrella structure in either open condition for use, normally closed condition for hand carriage, or in collapsed and folded condition for storage.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in connection with the staff or rod of the structure, a novel handle means so constructed and related to the telescopic sections of said staff or rod, and to the latching detent devices of the latter, that it may be utilizedv to embrace and hold the umbrella rib elements against opening movement both when normally closed for hand carriage, as well as when collapsed and folded for storage.

Another object of the invention is to provide a very rigid, strong and durable staff or rod structure for the umbrella comprising telescopic tubular sections having inter-engaging guide means which will permit relative sliding movements thereof while at the same time preventing rotative displacement of one section relative to the other so that properly aligned cooperative relation of the elements of the latching detent devices is maintained at all times.

Other and more specific objects of this invention, not at this time more particularly enumerated, will be understood from the following detailed description of the same.

Illustrative embodiments of this invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view, with portions broken away, showing the umbrella structure, according to this invention, in its open condition; Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the umbrella structure as closed for hand carriage; and Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the same as fully collapsed and folded in to a small bulk of greatly reduced length ready for storage within a traveling bag or other storage compartment.

Fig. 4 is in part a side elevation and in part a longitudinal sectional view of the umbrella stall! or rod, and rib structure supported thereby, as extended to arrange the umbrella in open or service condition; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken on line H in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a view similar to that of Fi 5, but showing the rib structure closed; Fig. 'l is a fragmentary longitudinal section, similar to Fig. 6, but showing the stafl or rod partially collapsed to engage the 5 handle member in embracing and holding relation to the free ends of the closed ribs, thus arranging the umbrella in normal closed condition for hand carriage as shown in Fig. 2; and Fig. 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal section showing the staff fully collapsed and the rib structure folded, with portions of the latter engaged and embraced by the handle member, thus arranging the umbrella in collapsed and folded condition for storage, as shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal section of the stall or rod members showing the interengaged guide means with which the same are provided; and Fig. 10 is a transverse section thereof, taken on line ill-40 in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 1, but illustrating 'the umbrella rib structure as modified to provide the Bombay form of umbrella spread; Fig. 12 .is a fragmentary face view of a Bombay effect rib element, and Fig. 13 is an edge elevation of the latter.

Similar characters of reference are employed in the above described views, to indicate corresponding parts.

The novel umbrella structure according to this invention includes a collapsible central rod or staff comprising upper and lower tubular rod sections l5 and It, so arranged that the lower rod section l6 slides telescopically into the upper rod section IS. The lower rod section is provided with indented longitudinal guide channels I! extending along opposite sides thereof. The upper rod section is provided on opposite sides thereof and adjacent to its lower extremity with guide projections l8 which slidably ride in the guide channels of said lower rod section, thus permitting relative longitudinal movements of said rod sections, but preventing relative rotativemovements thereof. The guide channels ll of the lower rod section terminate short ofthe upper end thereof, thus providing stop shoulders l9 engageable by said guide projections l8 so as to limit the extended position of said lower rod section relative to the upper rod section.

Affixed to the upper end portion of said upper rod section I5 is a crown member 2|! to which are pivotally attached the inner extremities of radiating collapsible rib structures for supporting the umbrella cover or top 2i. Each such rib structure comprises inner and outer rib members 5 22 and 28. These rib members are connected together end to end by a suitably constructed joint member 24, which is adapted, under proper conditions, to permit the outer member I! to fold in one direction backwardly over and upon the inner 22. The outer members 23 may, if desired, be made with aflat flexible center strip II for obtainingthe Bombay' type of umbrella top spread (see Figs. 11, 12 and 13) Mounted to slide longitudinally upon said upper rod section-ll is a runner 28, to which are pivotally connected the lower ends of rib stays or braces 21, the upper ends of which are pivotally connected to the inner rib members 22 at suitablepoints intermediate the ends of the latter.

The upper rod section II is provided with a novel form of depresslble stop spring to engage and hold the runner II in its upwardly moved rib structure position, whereby theumbrella is arranged in its open or service position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 11. Said depressiblestop spring comprisa an upwardly projected spring leaf or flnger II which is struck out bodily from the side wall of the tubular body of said upper rod loopu,through section II. Whm the runner is moved upwardly over said upper rod section to rib structure spreading position, the same will ride over said spring leaf or flnger ll, which yields to its passage, but will, by virtue of its inherent resiliency, spring outwardly and behind the runner so as to oppose and engage the lower end flange 2! of the latter, thus holding said runner in raised rib structure spreading position. When it is desired to close the umbrella, the-spring leaf 28 may be inwardly d by the operator's flnger, so as to permit the runner to be slid downwardly thereover' and then along the upper rod section II, thereby to swing down the rib structure to umbrella closing position.

Struck fromthebodyofsddleafspringflJntermediate its lowa' flxed end and its upper free end, is a rounded projection or tit. which projects into the bore of said tubular upper rod section to lie in the path of movement thereinto of the lower rod section II. When the lower rod section II is slid inwardly and upwardly through the upper rod section II, the upper end portion of the former will engage and push outwardly upon said tit II, to thereby positively move the spring leaf '2. to its outswung normal position. 'Ihe'efl'ect of this is to compensate for any pos, sible loss or relaxation of resiliency which might be sufl'ered by the leaf spring under frequent applications of inward releasing pressure thereupon.

or knob 32 is'provided in its upper end with an,

upwardly open recess 33 concentric to said lower rod section, the same being adapted, at proper times, to embrace portions of the closed or col-' lapsed rib structure in the manner and for the purposes to be subsequently explained. It is frequently desirable to provide the handle member or knob 32 with an extending flexible carrying which the hand or arm of the user may be engaged for conveniently carrying the umbrella about in ordinary closed condition. To conveniently attach said loop It to the handle member or knob 32, the latter may be provided with openings through which the loop ends may be passed into the interior of the recess 33, and then knotted, as shown at N. to anchor said ends to the handle member or knob. It will be understood however that the carrying loop 34 may be attached to the handle member or knob in any other suitable or convenient manner.

One of the important features of this invention resides in a novel arrangement and construction of latching detentmeans for positioning and holding the tubular rod sections II and It in various relative positions accordingly as the umbrella is arranged in opened condition for use, in normally closed condition for hand carrying, or in completely collapsed and compactly folded condition for storage. Said latching detent means includes a primary latching detent or dog 36 having a resilient tail-piece 31. Said detent or dog It is secured within the upper end portion of said lower rod section It by anchoring its tail-piece 31 to the wall thereof, as by a rivet- .ing projection I8, and so that the operative portion of said detent or dog it is yieldably projected outwardly through an opening it provided 1 in the wall of said lower rod section. An end of said detent or dog It, which extends at a right angle to or transversely of the longitudinal axis of the rod sections lI-lt, provides a positive or looking stop shoulder ll, 'Formed at the outer longitudinal marginal portion of said detent or dog 36, to 'extend outwardly beyond said looking stop shoulder 40 is a stop nosing ll, having chamfered end portions providing an upper cam end If and a lower cam end 43. Formed in the wall of the lower end portion of said upper rod section It is a main latch slot '44, which registers in alignment with said detent or dog a when the rod sections lS-lt are relatively extended to maximum staff forming len th. Also formed in the wall of the lower end portion of said upperrod section it, in a position upwardly spa from but'aligned with said main latch slot I4, is a second latch slot for cooperation at proper times with said primary latching detent or dog 36. The latching detent means further includes a secondary latching detent or dog 46 having a resilient tail-piece 41. Said secondary detent or dog 46 is secured within the lower end portion of said lower rod section It by anchoring its tailpiece 41 to the wall thereof, as by a riveting pro--v jection l8, and so that the operative portion of said detent or dog I is Yleldably projected outwardly through an opening 40 provided in the wall of said lower rod section. Formed at the outwardly projecting longitudinal marginal portion ofsaid detent or dog ll is a stop nosing bl having chamfered end portions providing an upper carn end II and a lower cam end 52.

. In the various manipulations of the umbrella the novel latching detent means bperates as fol-' lows:

When the umbrella is opened for use, as shown in Figs. 1 and 11, and the staff thereof extended to full length for supporting the same in such open condition, the lower rod section II is pulled downwardly and outwardly relative to the upper rod section until the limit of relative'extension of said rod sections is determined by the. engagement of the guide projection ll of the upper rod section with the stop shoulder-ll of the lower rod section. When the rod sections li-IC are thus extended, the main latch slot 44 is aligned or in register with the primary -detent or dog 36, so that the latter, under the projecting tension of its tail-piece 31, is projected to maximum extent through the main latch slot 44, and thus to a position in which its square locking shoulder 40 is opposed to the upper end of said main latch slot 44,.and consequently by abutment against said slot end prevents any upward sliding movement of the lower rod section l6 into the upper rod section l5. In other words, said rod sections are thus interlocked in their extended relation against accidental collapse. When the primary detent or dog 36 is thus disposed its stop nosing 4| projects freely outward beyond the external surface of the upper rod section I5 (see Figs. 4 and 5).

When it is desired to close the umbrella, the operator depresses the spring leaf 28 to free the runner 26 for downward movement. As the downwardly moved runner approaches the lower limit of its movement, it engagesand slides over the upper cam end 42 of the freely projecting stop nosing 4| thus pressing said primary detent or dog 38 against the tension of its tail-piece 31, and thereby-withdraws the square locking shoulder 40 out of said main latch slot 44, and disposes the stop nosing 4| within the latter, with the upper cam end 42 opposed to the upper end thereof (see Fig. 6) Such relation of the stop nosing 4|,to the main latch slot 44 is sufficient to resist relative collapsing movement of extended rod sections in the absence of manually applied overcoming force.

When the umbrella is thus closed, the down swung rib structure disposes the tips T thereof ad jacently above the handle member or knob 32. To hold the rib structure in such normal closed disposition, the tips T are gathered together and opposed to the recess 33, whereupon the handle member or knob is pushed inwardly so as to embrace said tips T within the recess (see Fig. 7). This inward movement of the handle member or knob is transmitted to the lower rod section l8 which is thereby caused to move partially into the upper rod section I5. Such inward movement of the lower rod section l6 carries the upper cam end 42 of the stop nosing 4| of the primary detent or dog 36 forcibly against the upper end of the main latch slot 44, thus further depressing said primary detent or dog and permitting the' stop nosing 4| thereof to ride out of the main latch slot 44, and to be thence carried upwardly into register with the second latch slot 45 into which it is thrust under the tension of the resilient tail-piece 31 of the primary detent or dog 36 (see Fig. 7). Such relation of the stop nosing 4| to the second latch slot is sufiicient to resist any further relative movement of the rod sections |5-|6 in the absence of manually applied overcoming force, and consequently the closed umbrella with its handle member or knob positioned in embracing and holding relation to the rib structure tips T, may be carried about by hand, as e. g. by suspending the same by means of the loop 34. When it is again desired to raise or open the umbrella, the handle member or knob 32 is first pulled downward to disengage the rib structure tips T. Such operation slides outward the lower rod section, the initial outward movement of which carries the lower cam end 43 of the stop nosing 4| forcibly against the lower end of the second latch slot, thereby depressing said primary detent ,or dog and permitting the stop nosing to ride out of the second latch slot, and thence to be moved downwardly until again aligned with the main latch slot 44 for projection outwardly therethrough, whereupon the runner 26, when slid upwardly, again permits full outward. projection of the detent or dog 36 with its square locking shoulder again opposed to the upper end of said main latch slot 44 as and for the purposes hereinbefore .described.

To collapse the umbrella to compactly folded condition for storage in a. traveling bag or other limited storage space, the umbrella is first closed by releasing and lowering the runner 26 to thereby swing down the rib structure, whereupon the outer rib members 23 are turned or doubled back upon the inner rib members 22 thus folding the outer portions of the umbrella top or cover 2| upon itself, as shown in Fig. 3. The adjoined end portions of the rib structure at the joint members 24 are now directed toward the handle member or knob 32, and may be gathered together so as to be received and held within the recess 33 of the handle member or knob, when the latter is moved upward by sliding inwardly the lower rod section relative to the upper rod section to completely telescopically collapsed condition. Such relative movement of said rod sections, carries the lower end portion of the upper rod section .l5 forcibly against the upper cam end 5| of the nosing 50 of said secondary detent or dog 46, thus inwardly depressing the latter, to permit the upper rod section to ride over said nosing 50 until the latter registers with the main latch slot 44 of the former into which it is projected. Such relation of the stop nosing 50 to said mainlatch slot 44 is suillcient to resist relative movement of the rod sections |5-|6 in the absence of manually applied overcoming force, and consequently the umbrella parts are retained in fully collapsed and folded relation desirable for storage (see Figs. 3 and 8)-. When it is again desired to use the umbrella, the handle member or knob is pulled downward to disengage the folded rib structure. The accompanying outward sliding movement of the lower rod section l6 relative to the upper rod section l5 carries the lower end cam 52 of the stop nosing 50 forcibly against the lower end of the main latch slot 44, thereby permitting the stop nosing 50 to ride out of the latter and thus freeing the rod sections for movement back to normal extended relation.

We are aware that various changes could be made in the above described constructions, and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof as defined in the following claims. It is therefore intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. In a collapsible umbrella, a staff comprising upper and lower rod sections arranged in telescopic sliding relation and having cooperating guide means to retain the same against relative rotative movement, a collapsible rib structure including stay portions, said rib structure being pivotally connected with the upper end of said upper rod section, a runner operatively connected with said stay portions and slidably mounted on said upper rod section, a handle member afllxed to the free end of said lower rod section, said handle member having means to engage and hold portions of said rib structure when the latter occupies given collapsed positions, latching detent means carried by said lower rod section, said upper rod section having a plurality of latch slots for selective cooperation with said detent means disposed either in full extended position with the rib structure open or in positions to engage the handle member means in holding relation to the rib structure when the latter occupies given collapsed positions.

2. In a collapsible umbrella, a staii comprising upper and lower rod sections arranged in telescopic sliding relation and having cooperating guide means to retain the same against relative rotative movement, a collapsible rib-structure including stay portions, said rib structure being pivotally connected with the upper end of said upper rod section,a runner operatively connected with said stay portions and slidably mounted on said upper rod section, a handle member aiiixed to the free end of said lower rod section, said handle member having means to engage and hold portions of said rib structure when the latter are collapsed, a latching detent yieldably projected from a side of said lower rod section adjacent to its upper end, said upper rod section having latch slots adjacent to its lower end for cooperation with said latching detent, said slots comprising a main latch slot and a second latch slot aligned with but spaced above said main latch slot, said latching detent having a transverse locking stop shoulder and at its outer side a stop nosing projecting beyond said shoulder, and said stop nosing having cam ends at its respective extremities, said latching detent being adapted to be projected through said main latch slot when said lower rod section is fully extended relative to said upper rod section, to thereby oppose said locking stop shoulder to the adjacent end of said main latch slot and to project said stop nosing beyond the exterior surface of said upper rod section subject to engagement of a cam end thereoiby the lower runner to automatically depress said latch ing detent to remove its locking stop shoulder from said main slot and thereby release said lower rod section for upward movement to carry said handle member means into holding relation to the collapsed rib structure and to move the stop nosing oi the latching detent into engaging relation to said second latch slot.

3. In a collapsible umbrella as defined in claim 2, a depressible stop means for holding the runner in upwardly moved rib structure spreading position, comprising a spring leaf integral with and struck out of the wall of said upper rod section, a rounded tit inwardly struck from the w body of said spring leai for projection into the when said rod sections are variously relatively interior of said upper rod section and into the path of movement of said lower rod section relative to said upper rod section.

4. In a collapsible umbrella as defined in claim 2, a depressible stop means for holding the rimner in upwardly moved rib structure spreading position, comprising a spring leai. integral with and struck outoithewallotsaidupperrodsection, a rounded tit inwardly struck from thebody oi said spring leaf for projection into the interior of said rod section and into the path of movement of said lower rod section relative to said upper rod section, and said lower rod section having an opening in the wall thereof adjacent to its upper end, said opening being adapted to receive said tit to releasably retain said lower r'od section in its inwardly disposed relation'to'said upper rod section.

5. In an umbrella, astafl comprising upper and lower rod sections arrangedln telescopic sliding relation, a rib structure controlling runner slidably movable on said upper rod section, a depressible stop means for holding saidrunner in sible stop means for holding said runner in upwardly moved rib structure spreading relation, comprising a spring leaf integral with and struck out of the wall of said upper rod section, a rounded tit inwardly struck from the body of said spring leaf for projection into the interior of said upper rod section and into the path 01' movement of said lower rod section relative to said upper rod section, and said lower rod section having an opening in the wall thereof adjacent to its,

upper runner end, said opening being adapted to receive said tit to releasably retain said lower rod section in its inwardly disposed relation to said upper rod section.

' WILLIAM A. HEIIMANN.

WILLIAM SCHULTZ; 

